Will Christian Bale Play Batman in ‘Justice League’?

Zack Snyder’s upcoming take on the origins of Superman, Man of Steel, is just over three months away and we’ve surprisingly not heard too much about it in weeks, with Warner Bros. oddly missing a chance to showcase the last son of Krypton’s prowess during the Super Bowl. Reactions from recent test screenings however, are extremely positive and for fans, this will hopefully translate into a greenlight on development of not just a sequel, but of Justice League.

Not a single bit of official information regarding casting, a director, a story or even a date for Justice League has been released by Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment and instead, interested moviegoers have relied on rumors and inside scoops, slowly and inconsistently revealing bits of information, sometimes believable or downright obvious, but always completely unofficial.

After the success of The Avengers and Marvel Studios quickly confirming a lineup of six followup movies (dubbed “Phase Two”), one report had Warner Bros. attempting to directly compete in 2015 with a team-up of their own. Justice League would introduce DC’s core lineup of superheroes and it would share the same summer as Disney and Marvel’s The Avengers 2. Will Beall (Gangster Squad) was writing a script for said film, a script which another rumor said was so bad that no sought after director was interested in climbing aboard, resulting in studio executives tossing it away. Later we heard that very same writer signed a deal with the studio to write two screenplays for them, placing doubt on the previous other rumors. What to believe?

What does this tell us? There’s not a lot of real info out there and there’s also not a plan in place at Warner Bros., at least not one that so many insiders claim to know about. But if there’s going to be one soon, it’d be very smart to continue building from the foundations they’ve already set. They have a worldwide box office draw in Christian Bale’s Batman, and they have a recognizable, likable leading man in Ryan Reynolds – despite the weaknesses of the shoddy film (Green Lantern) built around him – and if our anticipation pays off, they’re going to have a badass new Superman as well. Justice League should be embracing these assets and building from it. It really is that $imple.

According to Latino-Review‘s latest Justice League report, that may be what they’re doing. Their report (see below for video) claims that in response to Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars and the massive success of The Avengers franchise to date, Warner Bros. is bringing Christian Bale back, for the simple reason that his films, based on a solo character and directed by Christopher Nolan, brought in over a billion dollars each on the last two installments, something Marvel was only able to achieve (so far) with a team-up.

Chris Nolan is producing (and provided the story for) Man of Steel so even though he’s always said he wants his Batman universe to live on its own and that it wouldn’t continue with him, he is involved in another DC property for the studio and was integral in bringing Snyder aboard. There’s no way their ideas end with one Superman movie.

It’s something we’ve talked about multiple times on the Screen Rant Underground podcast (here, here and here), jokingly stating Warner Bros. should pay whatever amount of money required to bring Bale and Nolan back. Perhaps it’s already been done, and we all have to wait for Man of Steel to debut in June before foll0w up announcements are made. It’d be prime time for Warner Bros. to take advantage of Comic-Con to make an announcement of epic proportions, a la Marvel Studios’ unveiling of The Avengers cast.

So the questions are, should Warner Bros. bring Christian Bale back? Do they need him to play Bruce Wayne? Let me know on Twitter @rob_keyes!

Man of Steel hits theaters June 14, 2013 and Justice League debuts sometime in the future.

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ezra2 years ago

Wow. Craziness. While I find it unlikely that Nolan would want to return, Latino Review has a very good track record when it comes to comic book movies, and the guy makes a compelling argument. I for one would absolutely LOVE to see Nolan and Bale return and team up with Cavill and possibly Reynolds. YES YES YES!!!

Agreed… I think it makes the most sense. You need them to help bring the team together! Batman is already on solid ground with the fans. If Man of Steel does good then I think they would have to go that route. Most people (myself included) like Ryan Renolds. I wasn’t a huge fan of GL but I didn’t hate it either. I would love to hear this work out.

GL sucked but as you said I didn’t hate it either. Ryan just picks the wrong projects most of the time. He’s not a terrible actor by any means but even with that misstep I think it worked out good for us. He would make a great GL if surrounded by the right people and the right story. Just no more fighting clouds is all I ask lol.

I would be cool with it. Honestly I never thought that the man in the cowl was all too definitive of the Batman; heck, even Batman himself wasn’t TOO definitive in the biggest movie of the trilogy – that was the Joker. Batman seems to just be the anchor of the movies with the villains and cinematic effects being the real meat of the movies.

So, if they do bring Bale back, that would work because it solidifies and further anchors the Batman fan base and fills a centerpiece of the puzzle. But it wouldn’t be too hard to come back from if anyone else was in the cowl.

Nolan only comes back if the 2017 date is correct and he is given total control. That will come to light fairly soon if true. Bale only comes back if Nola comes back and if he is running a little cold as an actor (sorta like Hugh Jackman can’t hit gold with anything non-Wolverine). Throw in the fact that Warner’s Brothers wants the Justice League to catapult these characters to be franchises, and getting a new actor for Batman just makes sense for long term cost.

Les Mis was a huge critical success, no doubt. Not a runaway hit, but Jackman should, and deserves, some great roles based on that. The man is talented and can act, please don’t get me wrong. But the X-Men franchise pays the bills, allowing him to take more risky rolls. I truly did not know he had Broadway roots. Besides, he seems to LOVE playing Logan, much like RDJ loves playing Tony Stark.

My analogy was simply meant to say Bale is the same position- the Batman franchise will allow him to play in any waters he wants, and he is also a very good/flirting with great actor. He doesn’t need to go back to Batman at this point. All I was saying is there is not a huge reason for him to jump back into the role of Mr. Wayne unless Nolan is there OR he feels like buying another Summer home or two.

I usually wouldn’t believe a rumor like this but Latino review has a pretty good track record so who knows…

I am indifferent about this whole justice league idea, seeing that the man of steel hasn’t even come out. Even though it does look like its going to be good I am not going to put all my eggs in one basket. I hope it’s good, because if the rumors are true and this all pans out, if done well, they could do some really cool things with this.

Yes. Totally agree. Maybe have him become Robin in Justice League or another Batman sequel after Justice League, and then for some reason have him leave to become Nightwing and have his own solo movie.

If this is true, this is the most reasonable rumor to date. It has been stated that they should be eying on someone to oversee te production of these films. Why not have it be the director that brought in such a tremendous trilogy and who was instrumental in getting a Superman project of the ground after many years. A Superman project that seems epic and full of fantasy action fans been waiting to see (Seemingly/hopefully) while still being grounded in a serious take on the character and the world. It elevates the ground work from Nolan’s and Bale’s Batman trilogy into an epic.

For the Batman film franchise two options have been tackled excessively: whether do a complete reboot or a simple continuation of the trilogy in some shape or form. If they indeed use Bale, I feel the ending of The Dark Knight Rises- love it or hate it- will lose effect or just complicate the proceedings by limiting the world and storytelling possibilities. However in the books there are always time when a certain story can lead to different number of follow ups . Batman Year One is part of the continuity that leads into The Dark Knight Returns, Year Two and Long Halloween. Why not in film?

There is evidence to support that fans or most likely casual movie goers do not care if a certain continuity is overlooked or spawned and retcons the story in different ways. The James Bond films are a testament to this as the film series does not have a strict continuity throughout all films with each actor bringing a different reimagined version of the character. Casino Royale is a reboot yet still not completely distinct but rather just taking a fresh approach. Skyfall was more of a spiritual successor to Casino Royale than the actual direct follow up Quantum of Solace. I it’s a good movie with a recognizable protagonist, audience won’t care.

The batman franchise has reimagined itself again and again throughout time and the previous franchise in which there was a loose continuation yet different actor and tone. Superman Returns was unsuccessful for some reasons but it replacing Superman 3 or 4 was not one of them. Audience got the gist with minimal backstory. Xmen First class proved there was still life in a dying series even though it brought its own shares of faults- continuity issue and question whether its a prequel/reboot being the more prominent. The Fast and The Furious franchise is going stronger as ever despite most audience nt recognizing the fifth film released comes before the third and the switch from racing to heist films with cars. It all depends on the execution of it all.

For Bale to come back it should not be weighed down by the ending chapter. And no one wants to see a reboot soon. So have Batman Begins still in effect as the beginning of the cinematic world. The film was designed so its sequel can be taken toward any direction and it shows. It’s the more comic booky of the three films and has the right tone. They could also use The Dark Knight (being the most iconic and successful of the three) to round of Batman’s first year. The first film shows the origins and establish the ideals of Bruce Wayne and the world but the second definitely shows more of the Batman persona and tone. Plus the second allows for different interpretation of the aftermath of that amazing ending that some felt could have gone different directions. It also frees the burden of using Joker or TwoFace so soon, treat Liam Neeson Ras Al Ghul as the immortal he is, and still allow for supporting characters to return.

This scenario allows Rises to still its function but allows for new interpretation and direction of the world, but won’t limit the return of cast members who would like I continue and bring something new to the characters. Bale can easily and logically return without having to come out of retirement again, being broke, and leave his peace–come on Bruce never gets a happy ending; at least have that version have it. And if they go route with another actor, it works all the same while still enjoying the supporting characters returning with same actors. Nolan can stay as producer which will allow the tone and such to continue but let another director tackle the different possibilities this character can go. Nolan gave him an ending, well what if there is more than one story to tell. This will be rebooted or continued, yet I find this as a happy medium.

And bonus if the different direction doesn’t do it for you or Rises didn’t do it for you or whatever, audience can now just simply choose what film and continuity they like- just like in the comics and James Bond etch films.

Green Lantern may get heavily retconned while still maintaining Ryan Reynolds; Superman Returns will be replaced, Batman can go of three ways- pick the route I said and how is it different from these above?

If its a good movie, audience will love it and make their own conclusion of what’s ‘canon’.

You make some very good points. It’s very true that general audiences don’t really care about continuity, and Bond is a perfect example of that. But I still think that specifically going back to a certain point in the franchise and essentially retconning is a bad idea. Casino Royale was more of just a reboot, but still kept a lot of the side characters. Batman Forever was still the same character as the Burton films and had some of the same side characters, but they changed up a lot of details, including parts of his origin, if I remember correctly.

With Superman Returns, they tried what you said, with going back to Superman 2, and continuing after there, but I don’t think very many people realized or even cared, seeing that Superman was 20-30 years earlier. However, with Batman so fresh in everyone’s minds, people will be expecting a continuation or a reboot. Somewhere in the middle would be very confusing.

nolan and bale would never do a movie with reynolds green lantern, no matter how much money they were offered. lets not forget theyre both completely rich. they just want to make good movies. and you cant make good movies with absurd characters like green lantern and aquaman.

You have no clue about what you speak of. And your comment history is glaring with DC hate. It’s obvious you have not done any reading of the current aquaman or green lantern books. They are not the ones from super friends.

Too bad JGL didn’t say his real name was dick Grayson in the dark knight rises. That would have made more sense and still have been a nod to the comics plus it would have made the ending of dark knight rises stronger and JGL could have became nightwing and bale could have come back.

Would these justice league movies take place in between te dark knight and the dark knight rises? Cause 8 years is missing. Idk.

I didn’t care for Christian bale or Nolan. That aside, I fear how they will do this. The avenger movie was a slow burn of comic hero’s leading to the avengers. In this Justice League the only characters people know about are Green Lamtern, Superman and Batman. How can you have a whole Justice League with already mention plus flash, wonder woman, Martian man hunter, aquaman, and who ever else they want to throw in. Half the movie would be explaining these characters. These characters have complex stories. Plus, there is always the worry the movie is just Superman and Batman while everyone else is just thier. If they rush Justice League it will bomb harder than Green Lantern.

I firmly believe its going to happen. WB needs to respond to the Juggernaut which is the avengers and bale is that answer. Its like adding that final valuable piece to a team trying to acquire a championship. 49ers did it in the 90’s by acquiring Deon Sanders, Lakers did it by adding shaq,and so on.you get the point. Bale as Batman in a JL movie is what will get WB where they want to be, at the top overtaking the mouse and the house that the mouse bought.

This IMO will put more pressure on Mr whedon to make a better Avengers for the sequel and maybe more pressure on Marvel resigning RDJ to a new contract, cause let’s face it bale is not coming back to the role of Batman cheap and it’s very possible that WB will (if they already haven’t) make Mr bale an extremely wealthy man. This is going to be a fun battle between Marvel and WB /DC.

I’m not really a fan of sore throat Batman. Nolan’s version of Batman was a slap in the face to me. As far as i’m concerned, his only good movies are Memento & Inception. By the way DC should just forget about the whole idea of a JL movie, they should just move on and focus on something else.

“After saving Gotham from the League of Shadows, Bruce Wayne decides to go global and start his own league — a Justice League.”

An event like the arrival of someone such as Superman could force Bruce out of retirement so he could on one hand: bring extraordinary heroes together and advise them on common efforts towards saving the world. And on the other hand, watch over these Super Powered beings just in case they ever become a problem.

(The Bat Cave is gonna have to stock up on Kryptonite, just in case another ‘Save the World’ venture goes to hell)

Get away from the nolan verse yes, start fresh with a new Batman NO! The directioin Nolan seemed to be going after Batman Begins is where they need to take Batman from now on. It got to real for any cominc book character, even the one that is most likely to really exist among us. With that said, all of you people know, the only way WB is going to answer back to Marvel’s The Avengers, is to re-sign Noaln and Bale to bring their Batman to the Justice League. This is the only rumor that has me interested in paying ticket prices to watch this on the big screen, and apparently, most of you as well. This ideas is so easy that my concern is WB will make it hard. This comic book movie craze will eventually slow down, and if WB does not take advantage of the excitement about these types of movies, than they will miss the bus by a mile.

I WOULD LOSE MY MIND WITH EXCITEMENT IF IT GETS ANNOUNCED, THAT BALE AND NOLAN ARE COMING BACK FOR ANY SORT OF BATMAN CONTINUATION. I am okay with there not being a fourth movie to TDK trilogy. I loved the way it was ended. However, as a huge fan, I would be crazy if I said I didn’t want some more. I’m also super excited to see Man of Steel. These are by far my favorite Justice League rumors so far. I hope this comes true.

I think WB executives won’t risk a U$250 mills ( may be more ) budget in a Justice League movie and not having the actor everybody knows as The Batman.The will pay whatever Christian Bale asks,because let’s face it, can you imagine an Avengers movie without RDJ ? no way, the same goes for Batman in Justice League.

1) Not being a Nolan fanboy or something, but I think WB should integrate Nolan’s batverse into JLA if they want the best chances of success. Why?!! Coz audiences have been accustomed with this trilogy, Chris Bale is what comes to people’s minds when you say “Batman in film” and this is seriously not the time to experiment with a new Batman, and detriment the existing foundation of the current foolproof Batman franchise.

2) Just like the way Marvel has tried its best to provide substantial foundation to its core hero Iron Man with 2 films before The Avengers, Nolan’s Batman has in fact, received a more fortified foundation with a flawless trilogy centred around Batman’s own adventures in Gotham. It’s now time for Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne to move up to a global platform with Justice League, as Batman in the comics too didn’t join JL overnight but after a lot of experience in Gotham.

The other alternative is to introduce Joseph Levitt as Batman Beyond after he’s already taken the mantle in TDKR, which is another way to keep Nolanverse active. Even if Bale returns as Batman, Levitt can take care of Gotham like Nightwing or Batman Beyond while Bruce Wayne handles the Watch-tower operations with the other superheroes.

3) Skeptics point out that the other movie arcs such as Green Lantern and Man of Steel may not fit with Nolan’s realism. BUT KEEP IN MIND, Iron Man too had a pretty believable outline for the first film, until Marvel slowly adjusted it into the ridiculously fictious world of Thor & his Chitaurian armies of cyber bots in the Avengers. Batman’s integrity won’t be destroyed if it melds with the the atmosphere of the other JLA Members.

4) Here’s an example how Batman could’ve incorporated into JLA from Man of Steel itself : “Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) makes a cameo in Man of Steel for having funded Metropolis S.T.A.R. Labs after the finale. Superman (Henry Cavill) visits Wayne Manor in Gotham to reminds Bruce that evil manifests in not only mankind itself but from beyond the stretches of our planet (General Zod, the primary antagonist in Man of Steel, is a Kryptonian). Bruce agrees that this is just the beginning of the crusade he’s laid out for Gotham all these years and that now its time for him to safeguard Earth as a whole.” This proceeds with the addition of Flash, Wonder Woman & the rest of the team in subsequent solos.